Istanbul Old City Tour for Cruise & Hotel Guests

Recommended by 96% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Istanbul, Turkey

6 to 8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Discover the history of the Sultanahmet neighborhood in Istanbul on a small-group day tour with hotel pickup and drop-off. See the area's major sights without the need to navigate the bustling streets on your own. Learn how to use the city's public transportation from your guide during the tour. See attractions such as the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and more.

Hit key Istanbul sights in just one day with a licensed guide
Shop for souvenirs during visits to carpet and leather shops
Your group has a maximum of 15 travelers for a more intimate experience
Learn about the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire from your guide

What's Included

Professional Licensed Tour Guide
Galata Port Cruise or Hotel Pick Up & Drop Off
Public Transport Such as Tram
Discover the Art of Turkish Handcrafts: Carpets, Leather, Ceramics & Jewelry

Food & Drinks
Guide Tips – Gratitue
Entrance fee - Hagia Sophia

€25.00 per person
Entrance fee - Topkapi Palace

TRY2,750.00 per person
Entrance fee - Entrance fees of Basilica Cistern

TRY2,250.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Transportation & Meeting Information Pick-up and drop-off may be provided by public transportation such as tram or on foot, depending on your hotel location. For guests staying in the main tourist areas, our licensed guide will meet you at your hotel or within walking distance. This service is available for hotels located in Sultanahmet, Sirkeci, and Laleli areas. For cruise ship passengers arriving at Galataport, our meeting point is in front of Hafız Mustafa Sweets Shop. Detailed meeting instructions will be provided after booking

Itinerary

Hippodrome

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Blue Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

TopkapI Palace

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Basilica Cistern

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Hagia Irene Museum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Feshane Rugs

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Grand Bazaar

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate

Topkapi Palace entrance fee is 2750 TRY. You can pay to the guide for skip-the-line tickets.
Hagia Sophia entarance fee is 25 €. You can pay to the guide for skip-the-line tickets.
GUARANTEED ON TIME RETURN TO THE CRUISE
Basilica Cistern entrance fee is 2250 TRY.You can pay to the guide for skip-the-line tickets.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.8

based on 200 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

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Hagia Sophia undergoing major renovation

Stephen_B, Jan 2026

Hagia Sophia is being renovated with huge steel I-beams crisscrossing the almost the entire floor. Really hard to get an impression of the space with all that in the way. Of course, this was not the fault of the tour provider of the tour guide but it would have been nice to be forewarned. Still, you can’t miss this amazing, historic place.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're happy to hear you enjoyed your time with us. Your feedback keeps us motivated to continually improve our service to you. We look forward to serving you again in the future. Kind regards, TURKEY TOURS COMPANY

Excellent

Jonathan_B, Sep 2025

A lot of walking and go early to avoid the influx of cruise ship tourists. That said the tour was excellent and our guide Merk was very accommodating and knowledgeable.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Instabul day tour

Korilynn_C, Sep 2025

I want to send my gratitude for all your knowledge and assistant throughout the day it was very informative and my mother and I both felt like a friend was spending the day with us showing us around Istanbul.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Wonderful Day in Istanbul

Andrew_M, Jan 2024

We had a wonderful private tour with Sevda. The tour was very relaxed and informative. Sevda shared many details and facts that help explain the history of Istanbul (Constantinople). I typically tour areas without a guide, but Sevda was a great "value add". Highly recommend taking a guided tour of Istanbul just due to the amount of history. Having Sevda provide the details and timelines of events helps form a picture of Istanbul's rich history. After the tour we had a wonderful late lunch where we had a chance to talk more about the culture and history of Istanbul and Turkey. Thanks for a great day Sevda!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are delighted to hear that you had a wonderful trip with TURKEY TOURS COMPANY. Your valuable feedback serves as a great motivation for our team to continue delivering exceptional service. We eagerly await the opportunity to welcome you back again soon. Kind Regards, TURKEY TOURS COMPANY

We Could Not Understand The Guide...

Krzysztof_P, May 2023

The guide could not speak English in a way that we could understand. We all struggled to understand and left the tour half way through since we felt that we could get more ourselves by reading the information boards. Really we wasted a lot of time and money on this and are VERY frustrated. We came all the way to Istanbul and missed out on the most important activity.

Response from Host, May 2023

Dear Krzysztof, The guide who was with you we give our clients mostly in Istanbul and multiday Turkey tours and you can read his reviews as well but the main problem as i talked with you on the phone during tour that Topkapi Palace is closed on tuesday you almost blame us that not written there and we sent you screenshot of itinerary also the guide told you when he picked you up its closed because of Tuesday and we replaced with Basilica Cistern ,you accepted it then half of the tour you changed your mind and started to make an excuse about it. I tried to give you solution about refund or next day give you guide and visit Topkapi Palace but you said i have tour 7 hours then i said after tour we can organise you again said we will be tired etc. We are sorry but don't deserve this 1* review we made private tour just 3 of you because other group was full but you still complained about guide,tour because of Topkapi Palace.

dissapointed

isabella_z, Mar 2023

This is not as it seems and as its described online, we where expecting a private tour, however it is a group tour, does not include lunch and you have to walk the whole thing, the mercedes van is only to pick up from hotel which we where not even elegible for since we are on the asian side,the tour guide was not too bad however nothing special, overall would not recomend this tour

Response from Host, Jul 2026

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations. We understand your disappointment regarding the tour format and the services included. We would like to let you know that our business is now under new management. Since taking over, we have been carefully reviewing feedback from previous guests and continuously improving our tour descriptions and communication to ensure that all inclusions, exclusions, and tour formats are presented as clearly as possible before booking. Your comments are valuable to us and help us continue improving our services. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a much better experience in the future. Kind regards, TURKEY TOURS COMPANY

Excellent Istanbul overview.

Emily_G, Mar 2023

Excellent tour of Istanbul’s must sees. I would recommend spending a little less time in the Topkapi palace gardens and buildings, and spend more time in the Topkapi harem.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience on our Istanbul Old City Tour. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found it to be an excellent way to see Istanbul's must-see attractions. We appreciate your feedback regarding the time spent in the Topkapi palace gardens and buildings versus the Topkapi harem. We will take your comments into consideration as we strive to improve our tours and provide the best possible experience for our customers. Thank you for choosing our tour and for your kind words. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future.

Our tour guide was very...

Paul_C, Nov 2022

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and personable and gave us good advice for navigating Istanbul

Response from Host, Jan 2023

We are thrilled to hear that you had such a positive experience on our İstanbul Old City Tour. Our tour guides are carefully selected for their knowledge and passion for the city, and it sounds like yours went above and beyond in sharing their expertise with you. We're glad to hear that you found our guide personable and that you received valuable advice for navigating Istanbul. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review, and we hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back for another tour in the future.

A great way to see the famous sites of Istanbul.

Susan_R, Oct 2022

The guide was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a great deal of interesting historical information.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you for the 5-star review! Your positive feedback about our tour and guide makes us happy. Your feedback always motivates us to serve you better. We are looking forward to seeing you again.

Just do it

David_S, Oct 2022

Nice tour of some classic Turkish sites, guide did an awesome job of explaining each one and sharing some other interesting historic facts about the area.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you for the 5-star review! Your positive feedback about our tour and guide makes us happy. Your feedback always motivates us to serve you better. We are looking forward to seeing you again.

Excellent tour guide

Miriam_K, Aug 2022

The tour guide was very knowledgeable and I very friendly and helpful. Great experience overall. I will refer him to my friends and family.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thank you for the 5-star review! Your positive feedback about our tour and guide makes us happy. Your feedback always motivates us to serve you better. We are looking forward to seeing you again.

Great history tour

yahyaalshakhes_A, Dec 2021

Mehmot what very knowledgeable and the tour was fun and historic and i recommend it, but there is renovations in the blue mosque that it didn’t let as see the whole place only the dome.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's a great pleasure for us to hear that you enjoyed your trip with us. Your feedback always motivates us to serve you better. We are looking forward to seeing you again. Kind Regards, TURKEY TOURS COMPANY

Not a very good tour guide.

Margene_F, Nov 2021

Didn't appreciate the stops and sales efforts by the tour guide at shops of his various friends. The tour guide was outside smoking while we were supposed to be inside listening to a sales pitch.

Response from Host, Jul 2026

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. We would like to clarify that the visits to the local shops are clearly stated in the tour itinerary before booking and are part of the scheduled program. However, we understand that these stops may not appeal to every guest, and we appreciate your honest opinion. We would also like to let you know that our business is now under new management, and we no longer work with the guide mentioned in your review. Since taking over, we have been committed to improving the quality of our tours by working with professional guides who provide a more enjoyable and guest-focused experience. Thank you again for your valuable feedback. Reviews like yours help us continue improving, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again in the future. Best Regards, TURKEY TOURS COMPANY

Good experience! You should definetely book that!

Maximilian_S, Mar 2020

Overall a really good experience. Istanbul is such a vibrant city and it was interesting to know some more about it. My guide was super nice but for me personally there were too many information for the short periode of time. So a recommendation: A small structure of what to tell and be a bit more precise. Otherwise highly recommended!!